Do You Suffer From Big Deal Intoxication?

November 25, 2008 By 1 Comment
Do You Suffer From Potential Big Deal Intoxication?

Do You Suffer From Potential Big Deal Intoxication?

Every week I get a call from a desperate salesperson wanting help with the mother of all big deals. This deal has the potential to make his/her quota for the year or is a big company with lots of potential. The possibility of that potential makes the rep so fanatical that they throw all the rules and common sense out the window. Some times I refer to this as big deal intoxication. They poorly qualify the opportunity if at all.

They skip the steps of the sale process and start committing valuable company resources way too early. They call in the VIP’s to give extra attention when they prospect hasn’t earned the right for that type of attention and they are typically guilty of “premature presentation”. To make things worse they offer incentives, better terms and discounts with the hope of shortening the sales cycle and booking the deal this quarter. If this were a little deal or smaller company they wouldn’t make these mistakes but because of its potential size they are like a dog in heat.  If the sales rep had called me 6 weeks earlier I could have thrown a bucket of cold water on them and guided him/her through the process. With a little coaching they could have kept their emotions in check and helped them either win the deal or disqualify it quickly protecting their time, energy, resources and profit margins! So if you really want that deal and can leave your ego out of the discussion then involve your sales coach early and stop getting intoxicated by the prospect of getting the deal.

Filed Under: Sales Process, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Question Is Not How To Qualify More – It's How To Disqualify More

November 19, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Hoping that deal will turn into something more? - Stop!

Hoping that prospect will turn into something more? - Stop!

For years I have heard sales people tell me they want to learn how to qualify better. As odd as this may sound there is a danger to wanting to qualify better. It sets you up to have the wrong mindset and starts a tug of war between you and the prospect. You see there is little or no relationship and prospects are mistrusting of sales people from the start. So you start asking qualifying questions and what happens…they give you the “short answer”. You can feel the tension and resistance but we don’t want to push too hard because this has some potential and we can keep “hope” alive. From my perspective hope sucks!

Hope lets you fill your pipeline or sales forecast with junk (sometimes called deals) that are never going to close. Hope lets you lie to yourself that you have a lot going on and helps you procrastinate from making real sales calls. I once worked with a fortune 500 company who didn’t want to get real. They preferred to live in the land of hope even after I warned them they were setting themselves up for a shortfall. Sadly as I predicted the last week in the quarter $10 million in deals evaporated… not moved into next quarter but actually evaporated into thin air never to be seen again. Painfully they were $10 million short of what they told Wall Street and their stock was punished severely for it.

So I am going to be a contrarian. I am going to suggest that instead of qualifying that you strive to disqualify. By trying to disqualify you will ask tougher questions and the prospect has to sell you instead of you selling them. Your mindset should be positive but slightly skeptical. So it sounds something like, “That sounds great but I am little skeptical because…”. The prospect either has to get real and honest or they quickly disqualify themselves. This will take a little practice because it feels unnatural but once you master it, it will serve you well.   

Until Next Time!

 

Filed Under: Becoming a Top Performer Tagged With: , ,

The Secret Sauce For Exceptional Sales Growth in 2009

November 13, 2008 By Leave a Comment
What will make 2009 a different sales year than 2008?

What will make 2009 a different sales year than 2008?

I was talking with some clients earlier this week. They wanted to know what they need to do to make 2009 the best year ever. As we discussed what needed to happen one of the senior managers said, “We have had this conversation every year and we say the same thing. WHAT IS GOING TO MAKE 2009 DIFFERENT?” What a great observation and question. You see everyone is looking for the secret sauce for exceptional growth. It is typical that companies try to fill in the missing pieces with training in sales, presentation, negotiations, improved sales process, CRM, new marketing approaches, new brochures and a whole bunch of other things yet nothing changes. What my client realized, is the piece that nobody likes to look at.

 

It is not about what you know it is about WHAT YOU DO! You see the majority of salespeople and sales organizations fail to do enough of the proper sales activity. It doesn’t matter if you have additional skills training, a more effective sales process or new marketing materials if you aren’t talking with the right kind of prospects! It doesn’t matter if you sell face to face or over the phone… proper activity makes all the difference in the world! I say it is like having a health club membership but never taking your expanding buttocks to the club. You have the knowledge to eat better and you know you need to exercise but the action or activity to actually go to the club 3 times a week is lacking. Now if you really want great results then you would exercise a little longer per session or go 4-6 times a week. Exercise and sales activity are very similar…bottom line is low activity gets low results and high activity gets high results. Professional athletes and professional salespeople both know this is absolutely true. So the honest question to ask yourself is…are you doing enough of the right kinds of activity on a daily basis?

Filed Under: Becoming a Top Performer, Having the Right Mindset Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Appearance in LNX Magazine

November 7, 2008 By Leave a Comment

 

If you are interested, an article of mine was just featured in earning Executive Magazine. I teamed up with Brain Lambert of ASTD to write a white paper on Sales Force Enablement and how to maximize performance of organizations. The article that appeared in the magazine has was slightly altered to focus more on trainers so if you are a sales trainer you may be interested in checking out the the article, Increased Capacity Brings Sales Results on page 22 of Learning Executive Magazine.

If you are intertested in the original white paper that was written more for business owners, CEO’s etc or if you are looking for the Sales Force Enablement Checklist that accompanies this paper you may request a copy here or by selecting the resource tab above and then the Sales Enablement section. I will send you a free copy of the 23 page report (in a PDF) complete with a detailed checklist to help you get the most out of your organization.  This paper focuses on the three core areas of analysis for any organization – coporate analysis, sales management analysis and sales team anaylsis.

Thanks for your support!

Until next time!

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,